IBM launches new rack mount and single frame configurations for its z17 and LinuxONE 5 systems, offering enterprises fle

IBM today announced new IBM z17 and IBM LinuxONE 5 configurations, marking the first time the company is offering rack mount systems alongside single frame systems across its full Z and LinuxONE portfolio. The expanded portfolios provide a wide range of deployment options engineered with the same flagship performance, security, and ecosystem standards. These new single frame and rack mount options give organizations additional ways to position their infrastructure where it fits best for their business needs, supporting flexibility and operational efficiency.

Organizations processing highly sensitive workloads at scale are facing record-low data center vacancy and rental rates exceeding 400 dollars per kilowatt per month, according to CBRE's 2026 Global Data Center Trend Report. Simultaneously, they need infrastructure that optimizes data center footprint while prioritizing resilience for core applications. The new IBM z17 and LinuxONE 5 rack mount and single frame systems address these challenges by optimizing data center real estate to meet current market realities.

Tom McPherson, General Manager of IBM Z and LinuxONE, said: "The number of mission-critical workloads is rising at an incredible pace, forcing organizations to make tough decisions about performance, AI integration, and infrastructure footprint. With these new IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE systems, we're making it easier to run workloads where they make the most sense, while opening the door for a wider range of organizations to benefit from these technologies for the first time."

The new IBM z17 and IBM LinuxONE 5 configurations support up to 82 cores and 18 terabytes of memory across two processor drawers, representing approximately 20 percent increase in core count and 12 percent increase in memory capacity. The single processor capacity of IBM z17 ME2 provides full speed IBM z/OS configurations including 10 percent greater throughput per core than IBM z16 A02, with variation based on workload and configuration.

Clients have flexibility to co-locate IBM and non-IBM equipment to achieve the best fit-for-purpose installation in their data center. Each system is designed to help organizations reclaim space, improve energy efficiency, and integrate seamlessly into existing environments. The single frame and rack mount systems deliver advanced multi-model AI inferencing through the IBM Telum II processor, Red Hat OpenShift AI and the IBM Spyre Accelerator to deliver in-transaction predictive AI and generative AI.

The new z17 single frame and rack mount configurations, IBM LinuxONE Rockhopper 5, and IBM LinuxONE 5 Express will be generally available August 12, 2026. IBM Infrastructure Management for IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE will be generally available August 14, 2026. IBM COBOL Elevate for z/OS will be generally available September 18, 2026.